Seventh Heaven for O'Donoghue in Oaks

Report: York, Thursday

Darley Yorkshire Oaks (Group 1) 1m4f, 3yo+ fillies and mares

AIDAN O'BRIEN has arguably Europe's finest filly in Minding, but the master of Ballydoyle also has a formidable back-up team to rely on and it was Seventh Heaven who provided the trainer with his fourth Darley Yorkshire Oaks triumph on Thursday.

If that was not enough for the all-conquering O'Brien, he also saddled the runner-up Found and Pretty Perfect, who was fourth behind the Sir Michael Stoute-trained Queen's Trust.

The betting and jockey bookings indicated Found, one of only two horses to beat last year's Derby and Arc hero Golden Horn, was the number one contender from O'Brien's County Tipperary base.

However, O'Brien had spoken favourably of Seventh Heaven, who sprang a 14-1 shock in the Irish Oaks on her previous appearance, but went off a 100-30 chance for the £365,750 Group 1.

Patiently ridden by Ballydoyle stalwart Colm O'Donoghue, she picked up well entering the final furlong and powered home for a two-and-three-quarter length verdict over Found, who returned the 2-1 favourite.

O'Donoghue said: "She's a very good filly and was a Classic winner getting the weight allowance [8lb] from the older fillies. She's tough and genuine with a great temperament and beautiful action."

'Beautiful ride'

O'Brien, whose previous Yorkshire Oaks victories had come via Alexandrova, Peeping Fawn and Tapestry, mentioned the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf as a possible target for Seventh Heaven, who flopped in the Oaks at Epsom, but is right back on track.

He said: "Colm gave her a beautiful ride and she'd come forward lovely since the Irish Oaks. We thought the track, ground and trip would suit her well here.

"She is a beautiful traveller and a big, rangy filly. She handles fast ground well and has plenty of class. She has a lot of options and I'd say she's going to make a real four-year-old."

Found, like her stablemate a daughter of Galileo, is already a four-year-old.

She may have tired under Seamie Heffernan after having two months off since finishing second in the Prince of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot, but O'Brien, winning his 13th top-level Flat race of 2016, has some sexy aims for her.

He added: "The plan with her was to go to the Curragh for the Royal Whip on Sunday, but we came here as we have US Army Ranger for that, and then go to Leopardstown for the Irish Champion Stakes and then go to the Arc so nothing might change from that."

http://www.racingpost.com/horses/jockey_home.sd?jockey_id=14262&topJockTabs=jockey_stories#topJockTabs=jockey_stories&bottomJockTabs=jockey_form

Amanda O'Donoughue said "I worked with gorillas as a zookeeper at the Knoxville Zoo from January 2006 until August of 2008; after that I volunteered doing sanctuary work and wildlife rehab. Of the dozens of animals I worked with closely, gorillas were my favorite, for their soulfulness, curiosity, and playfulness. Since the news emerged last weekend that Cincinnati Zoo officials shot and killed the gorilla known as Harambe after a little boy fell into his enclosure, I’ve realized that there are some misconceptions out there about both the gorilla species itself and how a zoo operates in emergency situations. Here, I’d like to try to clear up those misconceptions."

Go to http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2016/06/01/amanda-odonoughue-gorillas-arent-child-killers-but-that-child-was-in-danger
for rest of article

A frisky mutt stole a pickup truck - and led a cop on a quarter-mile chase before being apprehended!

"This had to be the weirdest thing I've seen in my 14 years of law enforcement," declared befuddled Patrolman James Myers.

The shaggy dog story unfolded on the evening of March 25 [1996], after Good Smaratian Brett Donohoe, 32, found the stray collie mix and put it in the cab of his truck, hoping to help the pooch.

"The guy stopped at a shopping center to pick uo some flowers and a card for his girlfriend, " said Patrolman Myers.  "He also wanted to buy some dog biscuits for the stray."

Donohoe inadvertently left the engine running - and while he was gone, the black and white canine knocked the vehicle into gear.

"I was in my squad car in the parking lot doing some paperwork when I looked up and sw this pickup suddenly take off," said the patrolman.  "The headlights were off and it kept swerving around parked cars, barely missing them.

"The vehicle headed straight at a building, then made a hard right - if it hadn't, it would have plowed right into it!"

Incredibly, the out-of-control pickup missed all 50 cars jammed into the parking lot before skidding out onto the street, said the officer.  "I thought this person has to be sick or drunk."

The cop zoomed after the 'fleeing' car, calling for backup.

The pickup ran across the median and onto the lawn of a private home.

"It barely missed the house and a parked truck, then drove between two ornamental trees and into a cornfield," said Myers.

The cop raced to catch up with the pickup as it crossed the muddy field and shot out the other side.  At one point the truck rolled to a stop and Myers pulled alongside the driver's side window.  That's when to his amazement, he saw a dog behind the wheel!

"The dog looked right at me and then  took off again.  When that happened my mind just shut down for a minute," admits the cop.

Finally the pickup careened into a telephone pole..

But luckily, the canine car thief was unhurt.  "I found him inside listening to Garth Brooks on the radio," said Myers.

Donohoe was sited for leaving his car unattended with the engine running. The court also ordered him to find a home for the dog.

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=zuwDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA27&lpg=PA27&dq=Donohoe+dog+car&source=bl&ots=iZbkCD4d0D&sig=UrcMAS3bZhFVi9INjQvhMgDA9hQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi4wbXjk7_QAhWMI8AKHc6CAWMQ6AEIHTAA#v=onepage&q=Donohoe%20dog%20car&f=false




 

The  UK GRO indexes can now be searched at

 

https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/indexes_search.asp

 

for births and deaths up to 1957.

 

The search facility has the bonus that the result gives the mother's maiden name for births pre-1911, and the age at death pre-1865, which were not previously given.

 

Searches are restricted to 5 year bands.

ScotlandsPeople.gov.uk - the official government / National Records of Scotland genealogy index/images portal - has relaunched.  A major change is that it is now free to search indexes, and you only pay to download images.

 

There's a search form on the home page that lets you search across all records in one go. Searching for a name is then broken down further into numbers found in specific records like the various categories of statutory registers (e.g. births, civil partnerships, deaths, divorce, marriages), census returns (1841-1911), church registers (Church of Scotland births, marriages and deaths, as well as Catholic registers and other church records), valuation rolls (various years 1855-1930) and legal records (like wills and testaments). All of these index entries can then be viewed for free. You only pay to download any images you buy.

The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland  

IT’S A PROUD day for rugby in Waterford, and particularly for Waterpark RFC.

Homegrown hero Jack O’Donoghue made his debut for Joe Schmidt’s Ireland this evening, lining out at number eight against Canada at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday.

The Munster back row is one of three debutants in the Ireland team, with a further five uncapped players on the bench.

http://www.the42.ie/jack-odonoghue-ireland-waterford-waterpark-3077978-Nov2016/

Teachers and gardaí are set to go on strike in coming weeks

http://www.newstalk.com/We-dont-want-public-transporttype-strikes-by-teachers-and-garda--Donohoe

Parish priests visited the sick and dying during The Famine (1845-49), and caught the terrible fever that was raging at that time.  One such was Father John O'Donoghue, PP, Kilgarvan.  It would be interesting to know more about him.

Emma Donoghue's latest book The Wonder, published by Pan MacMillan, has been the Book of the Week on BBC's Radio 4

She was also the focus of the 'If I could see me now' feature in the Daily Telegraph of the 24th September

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/authors/emma-donoghue-i-knew-room-would-be-a-hit/